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Abbott will call a no confidence motion

ELIZABETH JACKSON: Joining us now from Canberra is our chief political correspondent Sabra Lane.

Sabra, he sounded adamant but is it really over?

SABRA LANE: Yeah, well some loyal Rudd supporters have told me that that is it; that they will shut up with the destabilisation and focus on governing and trying to win in September.

The proof is in the pudding though as to whether that white-anting can end or whether this tussle could be as damaging to Labor as the Peacock/Howard tussles for the Coalition leadership were damaging for the Coalition in the 80s.

One Rudd supporter has told me they definitely had 49 votes but that's still short of the majority that was needed for Kevin Rudd and that Mr Rudd has lost creditability with his own supporters, they do feel let down and that future suggestions about leadership ambitions won't be taken seriously any more.

For the Government though once this washes through the critique that Simon Crean delivered yesterday remains. He was pretty damning about the Government's style of governing and about its strategy of class warfare and its inability to seek consensus on big policy debate. They're issues that the Prime Minister and Wayne Swan will have to contend with.

AM requested an interview with the Prime Minister today. She declined but the Prime Minister has spoken to FM music station in Sydney this morning, telling listeners that she was surprised that the former prime minister didn't nominate.

JULIA GILLARD: No, I was a bit surprised given all of the build up that Kevin didn't stand, but having chosen not to stand that does underline that this is all definitely over.

SABRA LANE: The Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaking there a short time ago.

The Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott says the Opposition will push for a no confidence motion in the Government when Parliament resumes for the budget in May. I spoke with him a short time ago.

SABRA LANE: Tony Abbott, the result yesterday is a crushing mandate is it not for Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan?

TONY ABBOTT: It was a bad day for Australia, Sabra, because we've still got a Government which is paralysed, we've still got a civil war inside the Government. The sacking of Crean, the resignation of Marles and others just shows that the only way to get a decent government is to have an election because you can't just change the Labor leader; you've got to have an election. It's time for a stable, strong government that has a clear plan and real solutions.

SABRA LANE: But they were completely unchallenged and they were returned completely unopposed. You if anyone here in Federal Parliament understand that leadership challenges, you only won your ballot by one vote, you've shown that it's possible to lead with disunity in your own ranks.

TONY ABBOTT: Look, I know what you're saying Sabra but in the end the Australian public, they want the carbon tax gone, they want the boats stopped, they want the red tape cut, they want things like the east-west link and WestConnex built. And all they're seeing from this Government, regardless of whether Gillard's got the numbers or Rudd's got the numbers or Rudd's stalking Gillard or Gillard's stalking Rudd, is more division and dysfunction.

SABRA LANE: People will get that opportunity on September 14. It sounds like you're impatient for the keys to the Lodge.

TONY ABBOTT: I'm impatient to give our country good government Sabra because that's what the public want. The public want a strong and stable government and I think they're sick of this circus. And that's why we'll be putting a motion of no confidence in the Government on the notice paper.

I expect that in budget week it will be debated. I can't imagine that the Government would refuse to debate a motion of no confidence once it went on the notice paper. And it will be up to the independent members of Parliament to look into their consciences, to consult with their electorates. And I think their electorates will say we want the people to choose the government and the prime minister. We're sick of backroom deals, we're sick of the faceless men, we're sick of the kind of civil war and paralysis that we saw yesterday.

SABRA LANE: So you'll want that debate in budget week and you'll want that instead of an argument and debate over the figures and numbers that are published in that budget come May 14?

TONY ABBOTT: Well obviously we are capable of doing two things at the same time. And one of the reasons why I think people have no confidence in this Government, I'm talking about the public now, the public have lost confidence in this Government, is because they see a Prime Minister who promised on about 160 separate occasions that there would a surplus come hell or high water, no ifs, no buts, it would happen and then of course it's just disappeared.

And what we see now are deficits stretching out as far as the eye can see. And this is part of the problem. The Government is trying to buy votes. It's mortgaging the future. It's like the bad tenant that's trashing the joint before it gets evicted.

SABRA LANE: But motions of no confidence take precedence over every other business before Parliament. You're arguing that a change of government debate is more important now than looking at the figures and the finances of the nation?

TONY ABBOTT: Well I'm saying that you can't trust this Government. You just can't trust this Government, Sabra. We've seen time and time again this Government make promises and break them.

And frankly you can't trust this Government with the nation's finances because they've promised us time and time again they would give us a surplus. They've said that a surplus was absolutely necessary to help people with their cost of living pressures. They've said that was the best thing they could do to help people. Now they've failed to give us the surplus and they're running up a debt which is rapidly approaching $300 billion.

SABRA LANE: You want a debate too about government finances. Instead of this constant debate about personalities in politics, why don't you put figures and costings now forward on your own promises for this coming election now that we know the date so that we can have that proper debate now?

TONY ABBOTT: We've already identified some of the things that we will do to give our country responsible economic management.

We will slim down the public service by natural attrition.

We will refuse to extend some of the refugee and humanitarian numbers and that will save over a billion dollars. If we can stop the boats, and I believe we can and will, that saves some $6 billion.

We won't go ahead with the so-called School Kids Bonus because that's a cash splash with borrowed money. It has nothing to do with education. That's another close to $5 billion over the forward estimates period.

So we've started to outline exactly where economies will come. And the thing is if the Government isn't spending money on things we don't need, it's got more money to spend on the things we do need.

SABRA LANE: Mr Abbott, if it wasn't for the spill yesterday chances are you would have been front page news given the apology to the forced adoptees and their families in Parliament yesterday. There were many who took exception to your language in the audience yesterday.

TONY ABBOTT: Well I appreciate Sabra that it was quite an emotional group in Parliament House yesterday. I very much understand that and I very much feel for them and that's why the apology was very important. But the language that I used yesterday was precisely the same language as that used in the Senate report which they are so rightly grateful for.

SABRA LANE: You think those in the audience got it wrong?

TONY ABBOTT: No, I'm not saying that. They're entitled to be feeling very passionate. They're entitled to be feeling I think very wounded and that's why the apology was so important.

Our correspondent Sabra Lane is in Canberra this morning. Sabra, how likely is it that Tony Abbott's no-confidence motion will get up when Parliament returns?

SABRA LANE: Well the independent member for New England Tony Windsor says he supports the right for the debate and to test the confidence of the House. He said he'd be interested to see what the numbers would be. But he says until malfeasance can be proved against the Government that he stands by his agreement with Julia Gillard to support a Julia Gillard-led Government.

The independents point out that they voted for a debate on yesterday's no-confidence motion because they wanted to have the substantive debate to air their views in Parliament.

I spoke with the independent member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie a short time ago and asked him if he'd support the Opposition's no confidence motion in the Government in May.

ANDREW WILKIE: Well, as with all of the votes in the House, I'll approach that on its merits. You know, I'll need to need to see the wording of the motion and I'll need to weigh it up in light of the circumstances at the time.

The fact that I supported the attempt to suspend standing orders yesterday should not be taken as a pointer to what I'll do in the future.

All I was doing yesterday was agreeing with Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott that we should bring on a debate about it. But I'm happy to say now given the circumstances yesterday, if it had reached the point of a motion of no confidence I would have supported the Government yesterday because I would have been of a mind to give them yesterday afternoon to get their house in order.

SABRA LANE: Mr Abbott says given the way that the media bills also went yesterday, that they were effectively pulled from Parliament because they knew that the crossbench couldn't support those bills, that the people of Australia should be going to an election sooner rather than later.

ANDREW WILKIE: Well I agree with the Opposition Leader that the media reform bills became a matter of high farce. My reading of the tea leaves is that in fact all seven members of the crossbench are pro-media reform. So given that, the fact that the Government couldn't get the reforms through I think shows a remarkable mismanagement of that issue.

As far as when the next election should be, look I've said from day one that parliaments should run full term unless the most remarkable of circumstances. So if the Opposition Leader wants to bring on a no confidence motion well, you know, we'll all have to have a look at it at the time.

ELIZABETH JACKSON: Independent MP Andrew Wilkie speaking a little earlier this morning and before that our chief political correspondent in Canberra, Sabra Lane.

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